Chapter 497: Surprise
After getting on the train, Bai Zhi lay on her bunk, feeling utterly bored.
She remembered that she had a medical book in her bag, so she took it out to pass the time.
Just as she turned the page, a voice rang out, "May I sit here for a while?"
Bai Zhi looked up when she heard the familiar voice.
"Chen Qian?" She looked at the girl who appeared before her in disbelief, utterly astonished. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm going back to my unit." Shen Qian put down her luggage and plopped down on Bai Zhi's bunk. She rubbed her shoulders and said, "I'm exhausted."
"Why didn't you tell me you were going back to your workplace? We could have gotten on the bus together." This person is really tight-lipped; he insisted on waiting until they were on the bus before contacting her.
"It's a surprise for you." Shen Qian sighed. "Just kidding, I only decided to go back last night."
"Why aren't you spending the New Year at home?" Bai Zhi asked her curiously.
I clearly heard her say before that she wouldn't be back until after the New Year.
Bai Zhi guessed that there might be an emergency at the military base that required the mobilization of military doctors.
This thought made her heart clench.
His expression also became tense.
Shen Qian, however, adopted a nonchalant attitude, saying, "I don't want to stay at home."
"Are you in a bad mood?" she asked urgently.
I desperately want to know why she went back.
Shen Qian lowered her eyes and gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I had a fight with my stepfather."
Upon hearing Shen Qian's words, Bai Zhi's expression faltered slightly.
He wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.
This is not a matter for the military.
She didn't ask much about her family affairs, and said casually, "Then I'll go back to my workplace for the New Year. It'll be good to have someone to keep me company."
She had never heard Shen Qian talk about her family before.
Even Lu Ye and Xie Zheng never mentioned it.
Of course, it's also because she never asked those questions.
Unexpectedly, she was also from a blended family.
Bai Zhi asked her, "Where is your seat?"
Shen Qian said, "I bought a hard seat ticket. Luckily, I asked you yesterday and knew you had a sleeper ticket, so I came straight here. Let's squeeze in together."
If it were before, Bai Zhi would definitely have told her to go back to her own seat, as she didn't like being squeezed with others.
But because of what Shen Qian said earlier, she felt a little sorry for her.
I also empathize with them.
Well, we're both in the same boat.
So she became even more amiable, saying, "Okay, squeeze in, you can't sleep during the day anyway."
The two girls sat on the bed, and Shen Qian leaned over to look at the medical book in Bai Zhi's hand.
She was very interested in this and asked Bai Zhi to tell her about her experience learning traditional Chinese medicine.
As Bai Zhi talked, the conversation unknowingly drifted to her childhood.
She smiled wryly, "After my grandfather passed away, I had a very difficult time. Fortunately, my maternal grandfather taught me medicine."
Shen Qian took her hand, her eyes filled with sympathy as she looked at Bai Zhi.
She smiled wryly and said, "I'm a little better off than you. My stepfather used to be a comrade-in-arms with my father, so he took good care of me since I was little."
Bai Zhi was even more surprised upon hearing this.
Her stepfather was her father's comrade-in-arms.
She had already imagined a scene in her mind where a comrade entrusted his orphan to her.
At this point, Shen Qian sighed again, "However, over the years he has been very talkative and always tries to interfere in my personal life."
“You know what? He’s really insecure right now. He’s afraid I won’t take care of him in his old age, so he wants to introduce me to his nephew and have me marry him so that he can have security in his later years.”
Chen Qian's face was scrunched up with distress, and she complained irritably, "How could he think like that? My mom is still living with him. I take care of my mom, how could I not take care of him? I don't know who gossiped about him and made him have such an absurd idea."
"What about his nephew?" Bai Zhi asked.
Shen Qian said, "I've met him a few times before. I heard he works in administration at a factory. He seems like a very honest person, but I don't feel anything for him."
"Are you indifferent to any other man besides Xie Zheng?" Bai Zhi teased deliberately.
Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, Shen Qian hurriedly made a stop gesture, "Stop, I don't have any feelings for Xie Zheng anymore, okay?"
Bai Zhi deliberately provoked her, "Oh? You think I can believe you?"
“I gave up a long time ago. I thought about it carefully, and what you said to me that time seems to make some sense. My obsession with Xie Zheng is not because I like him that much, but because I have subconsciously always portrayed myself as a devoted woman. What I am unwilling to give up is my youth, not him as a person.”
Mentioning Xie Zheng, Shen Qian couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What's so good about him? He's the same age as Lu Ye, and he's been doing nothing all these years. If it weren't for his family supporting him, he would have starved to death long ago."
"But he's successful now, are you really going to give up like this?" Bai Zhi looked at her with a half-smile, trying to find some flaw in her face.
Shen Qian scoffed, "What kind of future is that? Just being a singer? If I had been making music for so many years like him, I would have been famous long ago."
It's been ten years.
He just released a record.
Shen Qian's attitude was firm: "Anyway, I will no longer have any hope for him. I want to focus on my career."
“It’s good to focus on your career.” Bai Zhi felt that she seemed to have truly given up this time, and it didn’t seem like she was joking out of spite. She said with a smile, “However, don’t get too hung up on it. Let things take their course and let nature take its course. Don’t reject the right person if they come along.”
"We'll talk about that later." Shen Qian leaned closer to her and asked mysteriously, "Tell me the truth, what are your plans next? You certainly won't be idle, so can you take me with you when you're building your career?"
Bai Zhi's eyes flickered slightly as she evaded the question, saying, "You should focus on your work at your hospital first. I'll discuss things in detail with you once I've made a plan. I don't have any ideas yet."
"Okay, I'll wait."
After a day of bumpy travel, the two finally arrived at Ningyuan County Railway Station before dark.
Lu Ye's regimental headquarters was located 20 kilometers outside the county seat.
The hospital where Shen Qian works is not far from the regimental headquarters.
Bai Zhi wrote to Lu Ye a few days ago, informing him of his exact arrival time.
She called the military yesterday, and the communications officer said that Lu Ye was out training. She asked the communications officer to pass on her message to Lu Ye.
If Lu Ye can return to the camp before she arrives.
She wasn't sure if Lu Ye would know the exact time she arrived.
The two of them got off the bus carrying their luggage.
Shen Qian knew this place very well.
It was getting dark by then.
Looking at the completely unfamiliar surroundings, Bai Zhi was grateful that Shen Qian was with her.
To be honest, if she were alone, completely in the dark, she would feel a little uneasy.
People always have an inexplicable fear of the unknown.
"Ladies, would you like to stay at the inn? It's ten yuan a night."
Some shopkeepers came up to them and struck up a conversation.
Shen Qian shook her head distantly, "No, someone's picking me up."
Bai Zhi looked at her with delight upon hearing her words.
Did Shen Qian call someone to pick them up?
That's a good relationship.
Otherwise, if Lu Ye hadn't come, they really would have had to stay in the county town tonight.
Shen Qian pulled her forward, suggesting they exit from the plaza first, where there would be fewer people.
As the two were walking outside, a familiar voice suddenly called out, "Cousin."
Bai Zhi and Shen Qian turned around at the same time.
They saw a man with a buzz cut, dressed in camouflage and wearing ankle boots, striding towards them with long legs.
"Cousin, did you come to pick us up?" Bai Zhi's first reaction was to look at Shen Qian.
When she said someone was picking her up, was she referring to Ye Qingbai?
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